Legislation

We opposed this resolution which would have called for a federal constitutional convention with the goal of passing constitutional amendments that would “impose restraints on the federal government.”

We strongly supported legislation which would have required cities and town to disclose basic information on their website about litigation in which they are involved.

We opposed a bill which would have allowed any member of a public body who is 65 years of age or older to participate in meetings of the body remotely, by phone or video.

We supported legislation which would have required public bodies to establish a plan for providing translation services at public meetings.

Despite the initial temporary nature of the power granted to the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees to meet virtually throughout the pandemic, legislation was introduced to make this provision permanent in state law. We opposed the bill.

While we supported provisions of this bill which would have extended the temporary authority for entities subject to the Open Meetings Act to hold remote meetings in light of the Covid pandemic, we expressed objection to two details.

We supported legislation which would have clarified the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) to ensure police accountability and transparency when it comes to final reports of internal investigations of police misconduct.

We supported a bill which would have allowed for members of the public to testify on an item on a public meetings agenda even if the item has been withdrawn or postponed.

We expressed support for legislation that would have allowed the Secretary of State to seek judicial relief if a state or municipal agency is unlawfully destroying or otherwise failing to properly maintain public records, a power that she presently lacks.